Washing machine



April 2l, 1936. w. sTRoBRlDGE WASHING MACHINE Filed March 18',` 1932 5Sheets-Sheet 1 April 21, 1936. l. w, STRQBRlDGE 2,038,066

WASHING I MACHINE vFiled March 1s, 1952 s sheets-sheet 2 /7 l" Z6 l l.

T1 A 35 35 j 74 'fz 3/ 73 74 INVENTOR William, 'ro 11165199 BY lag.;ad.; /QnroRNEYs April 21, 1936.

w. sir-ROBRIQGE WASHING MACHINE Filed March' 18, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 viti ATTORNEYS ltatented Apr. 21, .193,6

UNITED sTATEsPArENT- OFFICE l,

WASHING MACHINE William Strobridge, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor, by .mesneassignments, to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a corporation of theUnited States Application -March 18, 1932, Serial No. 599,654 I 14claims. (cies-1s) y This invention relates 'to washing machines ways. Itis important, therefore, -that when' the of the pocketv cylinder-.typein which circumferdoors are locked in closed position they shall beentially sliding doors give access to the individual held tightly enoughto prevent such movements pockets thereof, and'more particularly myinand. wear. Vention relates to locking mechanism for said It is,therefore, an object of my invention to 5 doors. provide simple andefiicient means for tightly Washing machines of the character describedand positively locking the cylinder doors in closed commonly areprovided with an outer casing or position. A further object is toprovide'locking tub into which a washing or cleaning solution means Aofthe character described having notal l0 is charged and within which isrotatably mountble qualities of durability and simplicityofl op- 1o ed acylinder for holding the goods to be treated. eration. A further objectis to provide efficient In recent practice these. cylinders yaredivided4 means for preventing movement of the cylinder transversely andlongitudinally into a plurality to an undesirableextent while a doorthereof is of pockets to facilitate the handling of several open and forpreventing closure of a tub door batches of goods during one operationof the While such condition' obtains. A further object l5 machine. Thecircumferential wall of each is to provide effectively againstinadvertent shiftpocket is provided with 4an opening for receiving ofthe locking mechanism while the machine ing and discharging goods'and`each such openis in operation. Other objects will be in part obing isprovided with a door preferably mounted vious and in .part pointed outhereinafter.

to slide circumferentially thereover in ways The invention accordinglyconsistsin the fea- 20 formed along the edges of the opening. In ordertures of construction, combination of elements, to give access to thecylinder doors similar doors and arrangements of parts as will beexempliare provided in the outer casing ori tub. When ed in thestructure to be hereinafter described the corresponding tub and cylinderdoors are and the scope of the application of which will brought intoregistry by bringing the cylinder to be indicated in the followingclaims. 25 loading position, accessmay be had from the eX- In theaccompanying drawings in which areterior of the tubto the interior ofthecylinder. shown two of the various possible embodiments In order toavoid the possibility of inadvertof my invention: ently dumping goodsfrom an openpocket into Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a 30the interior of the tub, some plant managers inwashing machine of thetype described, with a 3 0 `sist that, after loading or unloading one ofthe vpart of 'the tub broken away and with aN door cylinder pockets, thedoor of the said pocket shall of the tub in raised position showing theclosed be closed' before the cylinder is inched around door oftheWashing cylinder in registry with the to bring the next pocket 'or-xline of pockets into tub opening;

registry with'the tub opening. .Also it should be Fig. 2 is afragmentary front elevation of the 35 noted that the factory laws ofsome States recylinder door, drawn to alarger scale thanin quire thatsafety means be provided onwashing Fig. 1, and showing generally oneembodiment of machines to make it' impossible under normal my invention;

operating conditions to supply power to rotate Fig. 3 is a cross-sectiontaken substantially `on 'A 40 the cylinder so long as a tub doorremainsopen. line 3-3 of Fig. 2; 40 To this end, washing machines arefrequently Fig. 4 is 'an enlargedsection .taken substanprovided withvarious devices which cooperate tially on line 4-4 of Figs. 1 and 2,showing the with` each tub door t'o break the electrical drive -doors ofboth tub and cylinder lslightly raised circuit of the machine wheneverthe door is from closed position;

open; and only a small extent of door opening is Fig. 5 is an enlargedsection taken substan- 45 necessary to accomplish this purpose, tiallyon line l5-5 of Fig. 2, showing the left- It will also be realized thatwhen the cylinder hand latchingmember in door locking position, door islocked -in closed 'position andthe ma- ,and the right-hand latchingmember in doorrechine is set in operation, the :doors arev interleasing'position;

'50 mittently subjectedto heavy pressure and blows- Fig. 6 is asectional view taken substantially 50.

from the contents of the pockets as the cylinder on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

rotates; resulting in a. tendency for the doors' Fig. 7 is a sectionalview taken substantially to undergo chattering or chucklng movements online 'I--f'l of Fig. 5;

in radial and circumferential directions.. with Fig. 8 is a perspectiveview of a keeper for consequent excessive wear of latches andguideholding the cylinder door in open position; 55

thev edges of the doorl are guided. I At' its lower -sheets 24. Thesepartsmay erably tlree partitions ported and guided in Fig. 9 is a frontelevation of a left-handdoor pocket showing a modified and preferredform of my door locking mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the form of latchmechanism disclosed in Fig. 9;

Fig. l1 is a horizontal section takenl on line II-II of Fig/9 andshowing the latchmechanism in door releasing position;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section taken on line I2-I2 of Fig. 9 butshowing the latch mechanism in door locking position;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section taken on liney I3-I3 of Fig. 11; and

. Fig. 14 is a vertical section on line I4-I4 of Fig. 11.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout thevarious views of the drawings.

The washing machine which I haveshown as embodying my invention is seenin Fig. 1 as comprising a tub'or liquid container I0`of substantiallycylindrical form and provided with headerL members II providing bearingsfor the trunnions, I2 of a washing cylinder I3. The header mem bers IIalso provide standards I4 for supporting the machine; and a fluid outletfor the tub is indicated at I5. The tubmay be provided with one or aplurality of aligned openings forgiving access at different points tothe interior of the washing cylinder. Such an opening is shown' aty I6;This opening is covered by a door I'I suitably mounted to slide in acircumferential path over the tub opening. Suitable framing, indicatedat I8, is provided to supply guideways for the lateral edges of the tubdoor. A handle I9 taken substantially serves to facilitate raising andlowering the door by hand.

The cylinder I3, which may be of any suitable length, has its endsclosed by header members'` and is divided longitudinallyY into aplurality of sections by means of transversely disposed partitions 2|;and is further divided, preferably into sectorlike compartments, bylongitudinally and radially disposed partitions 22. 'I'hese latterpartitions extend ,substantiallyfroxn the axis of the cylinder to apoint 'of intersection with the circumference thereof, at which pointthe partitions are secured to the circumferential wall or shell 23. ofthe cylinder by means of angular be secured together in any desiredmanner as by riveting or welding. This structure may be best` seen inFig. 3. Pref- 22 are provided, arranged at 12u02` to divide the'cylinder circumferentially` intothree sets .of said sectorlikecompartments. and the total number of these compartments will dependupon the length of the cylinder. Each said compartment is provided witha loading and discharging opening` 25, of vsubstantiallyrectangularshape, formed in the shell 23,' the bottom of the openingbeing substantially in alignment with the intersection of a partition,22 with the cylinder sheet 23, andv such opening will be oi' sumcientheight to give ready access to the interior of the compartment.

Covering each said opening is adoor 26 formed to the curvature yof thecylinder and mounted to slide circumferentiallyover the openingsupsuitable guideways 21, which may comprise outer members 28 beneathwhich edge the doen-extends beyondthe partition 22 4and when closed isseated upon a sill member 2 9. 'like cylinder, at the lower edse 0f theldoor {shown in itsdoor lckingpositiqn, that is, when 56, secured byrivets 51 w the axis opening, is also provided with a plate 30 whichcutting away the door plate, the upper wall 33 and rear wall 34 of thepockets being formed by an angle sheet 35 which preferably will extendthe full length of the lower edge of the door. The ends of pockets 3|and 32 are closed by inner and outer transverse partitions 36 and 31. Itwill be clear then that these pockets are open at the front' to theexterior of the cylinder and at the bottom to the interior of thecylinder, except when the doors are closed, when the bottom of thepocketswill be closed by the partition wall 22. 'I'he door may have atits upper edge an inwardly and downwardly turned flange 38 adaptf ed tointerfitwith an outwardly and upwardly turned flange 39 provided at theupper edge of the cylinder opening. i

In order to lock the door in closed position and to press its lower andside edges tightly against the frame strip 30 and members 28, I haveprovided a latching mechanism indicated'generally by the referencenumber 40 in Figs. 1 to 7, which show one form thereof, and by referencenumber 40A in Figs. 9 to 14, which latter figures show my latchingmechanism in its preferred form.

Referring first, however, to Figs. 1 to 7, it will be seen that thislatchingmechanism comprises alatch lever 4I provided with a hook-shapedlatch 42 and a handle 43. Latch lever 4I is pivotally mounted uponpartition 22 by means of a pivot stud 44, threaded asat 45 to receive anut 48. A lock washer 41 is preferably interposed between the head ofthe st ud 44 and the partition. The latch leverv 4I is seated upon abearing portion 48 of the stud, which has a threaded end 49 adaptedtoreceive a castellated nut 50 held in proper adjustment by means of acotter A suitable anti-friction washer 52 may be interposed between thelatch lever and the nut 43. A cap or shield per side of the lever bymeans of screws 54 the purpose o i' which is to prevent damage t'o goodsthrough contact with the nut or cotter pin while loading or unloading tewashing cylinder.

'I'he hook portion 42 is adapted y to be swung in behind and engage theinwardly facing surface of a post 55 upstandlng from a keeper bracket tothe rear wall 34 of the angle plate 35. Thus vit will be understood thatthe keeper is mounted upon the door and is raisedl therewith; and thelatch lever is mounted upon the partition 22 and is not raised when thedoor is opened. 'I'he latc 42, when the parts are in locked position,engages the keeper 56 'to coact therewith in a direction to Ihold thedoor of the bottom suri'ace- 42 overlying an hupwardly closed' and thisby reason of thehook portion facing portion 53 of the keeper. The hook42 :iso 'engages the inwardly facing surfacel of post upon the door,causing it to jam tightly against the edges of the door frame. In orderto accomplish'this jamming action the active latching surface- 53 -isvformed .eccentrically with respect to 33 ofthe latch leve! 'as a camwhenlin engagement with'the post 55 to draw the door tightly ag titsframe.f

- In Fig. 5 the latch in the lefthand Vpocket 3I is 53 is secured totheppi.

y0f the keeper to exert an outward pressure' 'v so that it servesference of the cylinder.

its hook member is 'engaged behind the keeper' post 55. 'I'hls positionof the hook is shown in broken lines in Fig. 5 with reference to therighthand pocket 32. In this position, it will be noted that the handle43 lies wholly within the circum- The latch lever in the righthandpocket of Fig. 5, that is, pocket 32, is shown in its door releasingposition with the latch hook out of engagement with the keeper post 55,and here it should benoted that the handle 43 extends outwardlysubstantially in a radial direction from the circumference of thecylinder, and in this position crosses the path of travel of the outertub door, as is indicated in Fig. 4, in which figure the tub door isindicated at and the sill of the tub doorway at 62. It will be obviousby inspection of this iigurethat when the handle extends across thedoorway of the tub, the cylinder cannot be rotated in one directionbelow the sill of the tub doorway andA in the other direction beyond thelower edge of the open tub door. It will also be seen that so long asthe latch stands in its door releasing position it will be impossible toclose the tub door.

It is desirable to provide means positively preventing-movement of thelatch lever from its door releasing position to its doorA lockingposition while the cylinder door stands in any open position. In otherwords, means must be provided to make it necessary to close the cylinderdoor before the latch member can be thrown to door locking position toensure that the iub door cannot be closed so long as the cylinder doorremains open even to a slight extent. Such means is provided in theembodiment of my invention shown in Figs. l to 7 by means of a trigger63 best shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '1.

This trigger is pivoted as at 64 between the walls of a clevis member 35which is secured to cylinder partition 22 as by means oi 'rivets 66.Thus the trigger is capable of a limited up-anddown rocking 'movementand is-provided at one end with an abutment 61 adapted to lie in thepathway which the hook 42 must follow in moving from door releasing todoor locking position.

The trigger is normally held in such interfering, position, that is, inits upper position, by means of a spring 68. Means is provided fordepressing the trigger so that its abutment 61 will lie below hook 42when the door is closed, thusA enabling 'operationof the latch leverwhen the door is in closed position. The means for depressing thetrigger is a rib 69 formed upon the latch keeper 56, which is sodisposed that when the door is movedv to closed position the rib 65 willengage the end of the trigger and carry the trigger to itsinoperative'position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 7. The trigger asshown in that figure lies in its depressed or inoperative position. Inorder that during the operation of the machine,` while the latch leverisin its door locking -:=\position, theV vibration of the cylinder willnot f tend inadvertently to release the latch lever, the

upper side of the trigger is provided with a rounded detent member 10adapted to be received within a recess 1| formed on the underside of thelatch hook. The trigger spring 68 will hold this deient' within therecess 1| with suiilcient pressure to prevent the latch lever fromjarring loose, but the pressure of the spring 68 may be easily overcomeby the operator when Yhe desires to turn the latch lever to doorreleasing position.

So far I have only-described parts related with latch mechanism forholding the door inclosed f spring 15 manually by means of position.Other for retaining the door in open position in order to make it easyto load' and unloada compartment of the cylinder. Such means consist ofa simple bolt 12 mounted to slide in a housing 1.3 secured in the upperrear corner oi the latch pocket by means of rivets 14, as clearly shownin Figs. 4

means, however. are providedv and 5. One only of these bolts need beprovided to each door and I have positioned-such a bolt in the lefthandpocket 3| on the drawings. This vbolt is urged to the left as shown' inFig. 5 by means of a spring 15 and is provided at its left or outer endwith a beveled surface 16 adapted to cooperate with a beveled surface11, Figs. 3 and 8, of a bolt keeper 18'which lis secured by means ofrivets 19 tothe transverse partition wall 2|l at a point near the' upperedge of the door opening. This position is clearly shown in Fig. 3. A'

perspective viewv of the keeper isshow'n in Fig. 8, and it will be seenthat it is provided with a bolt yreceptacle intovwhich the bolt ispressed by its spring 15 when the door has been raised to the properlevel. lills the door lifts the beveled surface 1B of the bolt iirstcomes in contact with the beveled surface 11 of the keeper, then slidesover surface 8| ofthe keeper and springs into receptacle 80, in whichposition the bolt preventsv lowering of the cylinder door. 'The boltmay,

the pressure of a post 82, which is secured to the bolt 12 and passesthrough a slot 33 provided in bolt housing 13.

It will be noted that in Figs. 2 and 5 I have also however, be retractedagainst shown a bolt keeper 13 positioned adjacent the lower edge of thedoor opening. The use of this keeper is optional and when used issecured to parlition 2| in .the' same manner as the upper keeper. Inthis position, however, the keeper serves no purpose in preventingmovement of the door, as the receptacle 80 is open at the top and thebolt may be lifted clear of it at any time without retraction. Its on'ypurpose when used is to serveas a guard for the end of the bolt toprevent goods being washed from becoming entangled with the bolt anddamaged thereby.

As stated above, a preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed inFigs. 9 to 14 of the drawings. In these figures, it will be understood,the means for holding the door in open position, namely, bolt 'l2 andits keeper |8,.is unchanged, but certain features of the latch mechanismfor holding the door closed are different. In these gures a latch leveris mounted in identically the same manner as is the latch lever 4|herein- :before described. /As the mounting of latch lethe latch levereither in door locking or door vreleasing position. This means comprisesa compression spring 92 housed within telescoping sleeves 93 and 34.Sleeve 94 is provided with a bearing member 95 ,seatedso as to rockfreely in a socket 96 formedupon a socket bracket 91 attached to thepartition 22 by means of rivets 98. Sleeve member' 93 is pivotallyattached to latch lever 80 by means of av pin 39 which passes through anextension |00 of sleeve 33 and. through a clevis lili formed at the backof the hook portion |02 of the latch lever, as will be clearlyunderstood by reference to Figs. 9, 11 and 12. The

back of the hook m2 is also provided with im extension |00 to limit theoutward swing of the latch lever 90 when it is thrown to door releasingposition.

The compression spring 92 serves as a toggle spring to complete thethrow of the latch Ylever 90 in either directionafter the parts havebeen moved beyond a linepassing through the pivotal points of lever 90and sleeve bearing 95. 'This construction ensures that the latch leverwill be thrown to its extreme inward position when the door is lockedand to its extreme outward position when the door is unlocked, and itresiliently\ prevents inadvertent movement of the latch lever fromeither of its said positions. Hook |02 cooperates with a keeper |05having a keeper post |06 identical in every respect with the similarparts shown in the earlier views of the drawings.

In` this form of my invention, however, I have provided quite diierentmeans for preventing movement of the latch iever from door releasing todoor locking position when the door is in other than closed position.-This means comprises a plunger |01 normally pressed upwardly away fromcylinder partition 22 by means of a compression spring |08 which bearsagainst the underside of the plunger and against partition 22.

. This spring is surrounded by a sleeve |09 which serves as a guide forplunger |01. In Fig. 13 plunger |01 is shown in a depressed position, inwhich position it is held by the engagement therewith of an abutmentmember or shelf |I0 secured as by rivets I I I to partition wall 31,that is, to the outer end Wall of latch pocket 3|. Latch lever isprovided with a wing I I2 having a portion of its underside cut away toform an abutment surface II 3 adapted to cooperate with plunger |01 tohold the latch lever in door releasing position when the cylinder dooris open.

This operation of these parts is clear from the drawings, for it will beseen that if the door is raised the abutment member I I0 will lift clearof plunger |01, permitting the same to rise through the expansion ofcompressiony spring |08 into engagement with the `undersurfa'ce of wing|I2, where it is undercut to form the abutment |I3. In this position theside of the plunger will engage abutment ||3 to prevent movement of thelatch lever into door locking position for as long as the door remainsopen. This means for preventing operation of the latch lever functionsin many respects as does the trigger in Figs. 1 to 8, but is morepositive and has certainstructural and mechanical advantages thereover.

In operation, referring rst to Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings, startingVwith the supposition that doors of both cylinder and tub are closed andthat the machine has completed treatment of a batch of goods, in orderto remove a batch of goods from any pocket of the cylinder it is firstnecessary, after stopping rotation thereof, to raise the tub doorappropriate to that pocket. When this has been done the operator mayreach with his two ha'nds the pair of latch levers 0ccupyingrespectively latch pockets 3| and 32 of the door and swing themoutwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4. This releases the door andpermits it to be raised to its fully opened position where the bolt 12engaging receptacle 00 of keeper 18 holds it against falling. The goodsmay now be removed from the compartment and alnew batch substituted,after which the operator may release bolt 12 by means of post 02 andpull the door down to its closed position. I'hen the pair of latchlevers belonging to that door may be thrown to their door lockingposition with their handles' fully received within their respectivelatch pockets. I'his position of the two handles is best shown in Figs.2 and 3.

As soon as the cylinder door has been raised slightly, as justdescribed, the trigger 63, which up to this time has been held down bythe Wing 69 of keeper 56 will be rocked by its spring 68 to a positionto prevent latch lever 4I being thrown to door locking position. It willbe remembered that in the door releasing position handle 43 eX- tendsoutwardly through the door opening of the tub to prevent closing of thetub door. As has been mentioned hereinbefore, it is often desirable tocontrol the power circuit of the machine by means of switches positionedto cooperate with each of the tub doors so that even a slight raising ofany tub door will prevent normal power operation of the washer cylinder.With such an arrangement, it is impossible to apply power to causenormal cylinder rotation While the cylinder door is open. When, however,the cylinder door is again brought to closed position, the trigger willbe removed from its interfering position, as hereinbefore described, andthe latch lever may be swung to its locking position, in which positionit not only overlies the keeper 56 but also has a camming action uponthe keeper post 55 to force the outer edge of the door against thestrips framing the outer edge of the door opening; and it will beobserved that the trigger member serves also by means of the cooperatingdetent parts 10-1I to prevent accidental shifting of the latch leverfrom door locking to door releasing position.

With regard to the form of my invention shown in Figs. 9 to 14, it isthought that there is no need for further description of operation, assuch operation is quite obvious from what has gone before.

It should be understood that an operator may change the position of thecylinder even though a cylinder door is open, by manually depressingeither triggers 63 or plungers |01 (as the case may be) and turning thelatch levers to door locking position, The cylinder may then be inchedto its new position by hand or in any other suitable manner.

In the foregoing description and the claims of this speciiictionapplicant has referred to the in wardly and upwardly facing surfaces ofthe latch keeper 56. By inwardly facing'is meant the surface of post 55which is turned toward the interior of the cylinder. By upwardly facingis meant the'upper surface of the latch keeper lying behind the post 55.

From the foregoing it'will be understood that my invention is one well.`adapted to attain the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth in athoroughly elcient manner, and has other advantages inherent in the formand structure thereof. It will be seen that all of the parts employed ineither form of my door locking mechanism are simply designed and may beeasily manufactured, and that their installation may be readilyaccomplished without the need of more than ordinary skill.`

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. The combination with a washing cylinder having a door slidablecircumierentially of the cylinder tofcover an opening therein, ci alatch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on saidYcylinder and movable into coposition. Y

2. The combinationl with a washing cylinder having a door slidablecircumferentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of' alatch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on` saidcylinder and movable into cooperative relation with said keeper to ,locksaid door in closed position and movable out of cooperative relationwith said keeper to release said door, and spring biased movable meanson said' cylinder normally held in a position to prevent operation ofsaid latch from door releasingI to door locking position.

, 3. The combination with at washing vcylinder having a door slidablecircumierentially of the l cylinder to cover an opening therein, of alatch keeper mounted on said door. a latch pivotally mounted on saidcylinder and movable into c ooperative relation with said keeper to.lock said door in closed position and movable out of cooperativerelation with said keeper to release said door, means on said cylindernormally acting to prevent movement of said latch from door releasing todoor locking position, and means on said door adapted to actuate 'saidlast means for rendering the sameinoperative when said door is moved toclosed position. l

4. The combination with a washing cylinder I having a door slidablecircumierentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of alatch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on saidcylinder and` movable into cooperative relation with said keeper to locksaid door in closed position and movable out of cooperative relationwith said keeper to release said door, a trigger pivotally mounted onsaid cylinder in the path of travel of said latch and adapted torestrain said latch from door locking position when said door is open,and means on the door for moving said trigger to enable said latch to beoperated when said door is closed.

5. The combination with a'washing cylinder having a door slidablecircumferentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of alatch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on saidcylinder and movable into cooperative relation withsaid keeper to locksaid door in closed positionv and movable out of cooperative lrelationwith said keeper to release said door, andan abutment movable on saidcylinder to a position to lock said latch in door releasing positionwhenl said door is open, and means for renderingfsaid abutmentinoperative to lock said latch when said door is closed.

6. In a machine oi the class'described, in combination, an outer tub, acylinder rotatably mounted in said tub, means comprising a radialpartition within said cylinder `for forming a compartment therein, adoor slidably mounted circumierentially of said cylinder forgivingaccess tosaid compartment, and an internal hollow rib on said doorcooperating with an vopening in said door and with said partition toform a housing for door locking mechanism, said mechanism comprising alatch lever pivotally mounted on said partition and a keeper secured tosaid rib, said latch lever being movable into and out of engagement withsaid keeper whensaid door `is closed.

door and with said partition tol form a housingl for door lockingmechanism, said mechanism comprising a latch lever plvotally mounted onsaid partition and a keeper secured to said rib, said latch lever beingmovable into and' out of engagement with said keeper when said door isclosed, a .door on said tubadaptedl to register with said cylinder door,a handle on said latch lever adapted in one position to project throughsaid opening in said cylinder door to prevent closing of said tub doorwhen said latch lever is disengaged from said keeper, and in a secondposition to lie within the circumference of said cylinder when saidlatch isengaged with said keeper, and means normally preventing movementof said handle to said second position vso long as the cylinder doorremains open.

8. In a machine of the class described, in combination, an outer tub, acylinder rotatably mounted in said tub, means comprising a radialpartition within said cylinder for -forming a compartment therein, avdoor slida'bly mounted crcumferentially of said cylinderfor givingaccess to said compartment, an internal hollow rib e on said doorcooperating with an opening in said door and with said partition to forma housing ier door locking mechanism, said mechanism comprising a latchlever pivotallysmounted on said partition and a keeper secured to saidrib, said latch lever being movable into and out of engagement with saidkeeper when said door is closed, and means mounted on said door withinsaid housing' for holding said door in open position.

9. In a washing machine ofthe class described, in combination a cylinderhaving an opening therein, a door mounted to slide circumferentiallyover said opening, means framing exteriorly the outer edges of saidopening, a latch keeper secured in a recessed portion of said dooradjacent its lower edge upon a portion of said door disposed inwardly ofsaid opening, and a latch lever mounted on said cylinder at the loweredge of said opening to pivot in a substantially radial plane intocooperative relation with said keeper, saidl keeper and said latchhaving surfaces adapted to engage to lock said door in closed positionand other surfaces adapted to engage to force the edges oi said door)outwardly against said framing means to prevent play of said door in aradial direction.

10. In a washing machine, vin combination, a tub having a closableopening in the wall thereof, a' cylinder rotatably mounted in said tub,a a partition extending longitudinally of said cylinder and intersectingthe circumference thereof, an opening in said cylinder having an edgead-I jacent said partition and registerable with said tub opening, adoor mounted to slide circumferentially over said cylinder openingtoward and away from said partition intersection, means f exterior ofsaid cylinder and having a side in each formed by said partition whenthe door is closed, each of said pockets having positioned thereinlocking means for said door comprising a movable part on said partitionand a fixed part on said door, a spring-biased means adapted normally torender said movable part of said locking means incapable of movementinto the circumferential plane of said flxed part when the door is open,and means on said movable part adapted to prevent closing of said tubopening under said normal conditions.

1l. In a washing machine, in combination, a tub having a door, acylinder rotatably mounted in said tube and having a sliding dooradapted to register with said tub door, a latch member mounted on saidcylinder and movable to one position to hold the cylinder door closedand movable to a second position to enable said cylinder door to beopened, releasable means on the cylinder in the path of travel of thecylinder door for normally preventing actuation of said latch memberwhen the door is in other than closed position, and means on saidcylinder door for operating said releasable means when said door is vmoved to closed position.

12. The combinatiomwith a washing machine cylinder having a doorslidable circumferentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein,of a latch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted onsaid cylinder and movable into cooperative relation with said keeper tolock said door in closed position and movable out of cooperativerelation with said keeper to release said door, an abutment on saidcylinder, and a spring member interposed between said abutment and saidlatch and forming with said latch a toggle movable by and With saidlatch from side .to side beyond the straightline position of said toggleto seatsaid latch and resiliently retain the same in either its lockingor releasing position.

13. In a washing machine, in combination, a tub having a door, acylinder rotatably mounted 'in said tub and having a sliding dooradapted to register with said tub door, a latch member mounted on saidcylinder and movable to a position to hold said cylinder door inclosed-position y and also movable to a door-releasing position, a

spring biased abutment movably mounted on lsaid cylinder and whenrsaiddoor stands open engageable by said latch member to hold said member inits said door-releasing position, and means on said door adapted toengage said abutment as said 'door is being closed and move saidabutment out of engageability by said latch member, whereby the latchmember is released for movement to its door-holding position.

14. In a Washing machine, in combination, a tub havingA a door, acylinder rotatably mounted in said tub and having a sliding door adaptedto register with said tub door, a latch member mounted on said cylinderand movable to a position to hold said cylinder door in closed positionand also movable to a door-releasing position, a spring biased abutmentmovably mounted on said cylinder and when said door stands openengageable by said latch member to hold said member in its saiddoor-releasing position, means on said door adapted to engage saidabutment as said door is being closed and-move said abutment out ofengageability by said latch member, whereby the latch member isVreleased for movement to itsk door-holding position, and means on saidlatch member for preventing the closing of said tub door when said latchmember is in doorreleasing position. l

WILLIAM STROBRIDGE.

